Queen Elizabeth Hospital

The Hon. S.G. WADE (14:33): Considering the minister has—

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Considering the minister—

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Has the minister got the call or have I?

The PRESIDENT: I just pulled a member of this chamber up because he was interjecting while the minister was trying to answer a question. I am getting a little bit tired of the Leader of the Government in this house baiting the opposition leader into a debate across the chamber. The Hon. Mr Wade has a question. It's a very important issue and something that we need to discuss. The Hon Mr Wade.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Thank you, Mr President. Considering the minister's assurance in his original answer that the Premier's commitment will be delivered, will that include restoring the 40 per cent cut in staff that Professor Horowitz says jeopardises the ongoing viability of the cardiac service at The QEH?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse) (14:34): As I said earlier, Professor Horowitz is one clinician who works at The QEH, amongst many. I am looking forward to the opportunity of meeting with Professor Horowitz. I have had the opportunity to meet him briefly once before. That was on the occasion of my being at The QEH with the Premier of South Australia when he made a significant commitment, including a $270 million investment on The QEH. I look forward to meeting with Professor Horowitz in a more formal capacity, and certainly in my new capacity, sooner rather than later. He certainly deserves the opportunity, in my view, to be heard in respect of his perspectives on Transforming Health, so I welcome the opportunity to have that meeting.

If we just tone down the debate, we have made a clear commitment. We have put our money where our mouth is in order to deliver that commitment. I look forward to working with all clinicians and the department to get through that detail, to make sure that we can have this investment, roll it out, and we can have our commitment honoured so that the people of the west get the services they deserve, but also that we do it in a way that represents the best possible outcomes, particularly around safety. That should be informed from a number of clinical perspectives, including that from Professor Horowitz.